Letters to the Editor 11-30-11

Wednesday

Nov 30, 2011 at 7:06 AMNov 30, 2011 at 7:07 AM

Identifying the court

Eric Allie's cartoon ("Ignoring the Constitution," Op-Ed, Nov. 27) was right on. After I finished reading the article by Star Parker, I looked back at Allie's cartoon and thought, first row: Justices Thomas, Scalia, Roberts and Alito, second row: Justices Ginsburg, Sotomayor, Breyer, Kennedy, and of course the cheerleader on the end, Kagan.

I wonder how many readers can identify and name all nine justices on the Supreme Court?

Glenn Lincoln

Apple Valley

Purchasing power

Re "Deficit panel gives up," Daily Press, Nov. 22. Since the roots of a recession are almost entirely psychological, arising from fears about the immediate future, it only seems reasonable to address the impending problem by purely psychological means.

Or are recessions "a natural part of an economic cycle," and therefore inevitable?

Not being a clinician myself I don't exactly know the best approach, but instead of assigning hopelessly partisan politicians to bicker about expenditure, it might better serve the nation to hire a team of advertisers, people known for their success at persuasion, experts at appeal to our subliminal.

For instance, as a retired octogen I can see no use whatever for that rectangular "notebook," usually black, with a screen at one side and a microphone at the bottom, that everyone else rushes out to buy the instant a new model appears. Granted it has immediate appeal to the busy modern — who can be seen rushing down the boulevard affixing one to his ear — but without the weekly flier and its colorful ads we'd still be stuck with desktop computers and dial telephones.

So next time a recession looms let's immediately assign a new kind of crew to persuade those of us with surplus pocket change to rush right out and Spend in Support of the Economy.

Dale Hileman

Apple Valley

Where are the patriots?

An article in the Daily Press Nov. 23 quoted former Sen. Alan Simpson (R., Wyo.) as saying that "The Democrats are only thinking of their re-election and the Democratic Party. The Republicans are only thinking of their re-election and the Republican Party. Are there no statesmen or patriots left who think about what is good for our country and the American people?"

I'd like to think there are a few good men or women in politics, but so far I haven't heard any of them speak up.

Norma Johnson

Apple Valley

The rest of the story

Tim Seep ("Bigotry and the ballot box," Letters, Nov. 23) needs to do some actual research instead of repeating GOP talking points. If he did he would know that while Dorothy Cooper was granted her new Tennessee voter ID card on Oct. 21, she first applied for one on Oct. 3 and was turned down despite the numerous forms of ID she had brought with her. It was only after her story hit the national news and a friend encouraged her to try again that she reapplied and this time got the card.

Mr. Seep left that part of the story out.

Angela Tambay

Apple Valley

No time to borrow

When I took accounting classes in the late 40s, then again in the late 60s, one took the gross value of something, then subtracted the debt, and that was what amounted to the net value of one's assets.

I live on the fourth tee of a golf course in a prefabricated house. The current value of the home and lot is probably in the neighborhood of $70,000 to $80,000. When housing picks up again, the value will easily exceed $100,000. Using this premise (the gross value of the United States is $15 trillion) doesn't mean Barack Obama should borrow more.